Dawes call the paint on my Horizon 'Ardaznailz', and after 22 years and 47,000 miles, it's still in pretty much showroom condition, the only chips are where the chain flicks the chainstay. I'd be tempted to dispute the Ardaznailz label though, I think the reason it's survived so well is that it's tough and flexible rather than hard. At one time I had lighting cables on it, and when I took them off you could feel a slight impression that had been pressed into the paint by the Ty-Raps. The same when I removed the front mech: when I refitted it I was able to slot it back into the groove that the clamp had pressed into the paint.
I'm quite precious about it though, I've never parked it in a way that involves anything (such as a Sheffield stand) touching the paint, and I'm pretty careful to avoid places where someone else is likely to throw a bike on top of it, too. I'll happily walk a hundred yards to find somewhere better to leave it than a bike parking area.
My previous bike is a matt/satin black Raleigh Record, and that's a different kettle of fish entirely. It's not chipped, but the problem with matt paint is that it's porous, so the damp permeates the paint and it ends up covered with rust rash even without any chips. (A bit like chrome, which also corrodes because it's porous.)
not chip. Going to have it sand blasted and painted next winter by a good auto repair place . Tell us about paint issues on other makes.
